A theorist, organist, and conductor, Jeff Ostrowski holds his B.M. in Music Theory from the University of Kansas (2004), and did graduate work in Musicology. He serves as choirmaster for the new FSSP parish in Los Angeles, where he resides with his wife and children.

Why do we never sing “De Spiritu Sancto” (St. Athenogenes) in our churches? There are a dozen translations in English verse. Where could anyone find a better evening hymn than this, coming right down from the catacombs? Our hymnbooks know nothing of such a treasure as this, and give us pages of poor sentiment in doggerel lines by some tenth-rate modern versifier.
— Rev’d Adrian Fortescue (d. 1923)

The following article was first published on 6 January 2014 by several blogs which promote the Traditional Latin Mass. It is reproduced here for ease of reference.

FEWYEARSAGO, I purchased the new (Novus Ordo) Roman Missal from one of the major publishers. I was shocked to observe that, while they did include traditional artwork, the pictures were kept separate from the Mass prayers, assuring that priests would never see it. 1 In some cases, the color pictures were even separated by blank, white pages. These post-Conciliar publishers had “hopped on the bandwagon” of Benedict’s Pontificate, opting for beauty instead of the ugly art so common since the Council. However, they failed to grasp the very purpose of that art: to edify the priest while saying Mass. Contrariwise, the St. Edmund Campion Missal & Hymnal includes beautiful Catholic artwork for the traditional purpose: viz. the edification of the faithful.

Since ours is a book for the congregation, printing the entire book in color was out of the question. How, then, could we decorate the pages in a worthy way? We searched through hundreds of old books — Antiphonals, Breviaries, Graduals, etc. — and discovered how our Catholic ancestors solved the problem. These devout masters used black & white (the only colors available to them) to create utterly magnificent religious drawings. Incidentally, there’s a parallel here to music: composers and performers are usually at their best when limitations are placed upon them. Many artists find complete freedom overwhelming.

Practically speaking, how might a Catholic be edified by artwork? Obviously, it is not possible in this short article to explain all 100+ woodcuts in the Campion Missal, but perhaps a few examples will suffice.

Let us consider Figure 1, one of our Good Friday images, placed toward the beginning of our Lord’s Passion. As we did throughout the entire book, we added English translations, whereas the original 19th-century woodcuts had Latin texts only. Perhaps some may be puzzled when they read, “Go up, thou bald head.” What does this have to do with the soldiers mocking our Lord? The Biblical text (IV Kings 2:23) relates an incident where young boys mocked Elisha, the Lord’s prophet, and were subsequently eaten by bears. The lesson here is simple: never mock God. Never mock that which is holy. Once, as a young boy, I jokingly used a cleric’s plastic white collar as a whip. The seminarian looked at me with horror and said, “How dare you? That object is blessed.” The lesson stuck with me in a powerful way through the years. In the picture’s other reference, a parallel is drawn between Solomon’s crown (Canticles 3:11) and our Lord being crowned with thorns. I can only imagine the beautiful way a preacher like Fulton J. Sheen would develop this theme.

Let us consider Figure 2, which we used as a Header for Good Friday. Many traditional Missals use this image or a variation of it, as illustrated by this example. Certain obvious features strike one immediately, like the famous skull under the Cross (representing an Eastern tradition that Christ died in the same spot as Adam). The Sun and Moon are found in thousands of Crucifixion depictions, and likewise seem to have originated in the East, e.g. Syria, around the sixth century. They refer to Mark 15:33 — “And the sun was darkened” — also described by the other synoptics (cf. Mt 27/45 and Lk 23/44). On the other hand, there are more subtle things in this picture: consider the background castle. We know “the place where Jesus was crucified was close to the city” (Jn 19:20), and it is perhaps only natural that crucifixions be done outside the city. Yet, the artist’s depiction is no first-century city: it’s more modern. This might remind us that “busy city people” are only concerned with things of the world: pleasures, success, power, fame, and so forth. Worldly people don’t want to deal with “the uneducated poor” or “dirty criminals.” Least of all do they wish to be reminded of our Lord’s crucifixion. As a matter of fact, many people who constantly and publicly proclaim their love for the poor live in gated communities and frequent only the most privileged gatherings so they won’t ever have to see the poor. Gazing upon this crucifixion scene, perhaps we should ask God to give us graces to follow the example of the saints, shunning worldly desires.

Considering Figure 3, which we used for Christmas Midnight Mass, we are reminded that 19th-century Catholics took the Word of God seriously and their knowledge of Scripture was often quite profound. Indeed, sometimes these images contained more Scripture references than we could accommodate. For instance, the original of Figure 3 referred to six passages from the Old Testament, sometimes by means of a single word only (e.g. “Parvulus”). Because we couldn’t fit all of them in a satisfactory way, we divided two amongst the other Christmastide Masses. Notice in particular the powerful reference to Moses approaching the burning bush, removing his shoes. Again, I can only imagine the beautiful way a great preacher like Msgr. Ronald Knox would relate this event to our Lord’s birth in a humble stable, such a surprising “terra sancta” (Ex 3:5), for behold, a greater than Moses is here (cf. Mt 12:41-42).

I mentioned above that the expensive Novus Ordo Missal placed artwork in all the wrong places, but something else was amiss, as well. The artwork was taken from random places and included every style imaginable (from medieval to avant-garde). In the Campion Missal we avoided this, only admitting artwork of a unified style. We also made our choices based on the demands of the Missal and not “what we had available.” Sometimes this necessitated choosing between several excellent options. For example, we chose Figure 4 for the Epiphany, and did not include Figure 5, which is being released here for the first time. Figure 5 focuses on the kingship of Christ (prefigured by Joseph and Solomon), whereas many other drawings had the Wedding at Cana and our Lord’s Baptism in addition to the Gentile Magi bringing gifts. (Many Catholics might not be aware that the Epiphany traditionally celebrated all three early manifestations of Christ’s Divinity.)

In January of 2013 we began releasing these images (full resolution) each week on the Corpus Christi Watershed blog. Currently, more than fifty can be downloaded, and we still have hundreds to release. All images had to be scanned at high quality and painstakingly digitally enhanced. Viewing this comparison chart somewhat illustrates why this was necessary. We were happy to exert all this effort because beauty often brings men closer to God in a mysterious way. What do I mean? Writing this article, I remembered something out of the blue. When I was very young, I used to search every library I could for pictures of ancient cathedrals. The splendor of these structures (which still has the same effect all these years later!) spurred me on to learn more about the Church, the saints, and Christ. I’m sure many readers have had a similar experiences.

NOTESFROMTHIS ARTICLE:

1 Moreover, some of the choices made by the post-conciliar editors can only be described as a detestable hodgepodge.

Priests have expressed concern about throwing the Word of God into the garbage every few months. The Isaac Jogues Illuminated Missal contains the complete Sunday readings for Years ABC, complete Gradual texts, and magnificent page layouts.

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This new Gregorian Chant Mass (with optional organ accompaniment) uses the new ICEL translation of the Roman Missal. We provide free practice videos, vocalist scores in modern and Gregorian notation, congregational booklets, and much more!

Kevin Allen's brilliant new SATB collection of twelve (12) Sacred Motets that can be used all throughout the Liturgical year. 144 Practice videos by Matthew J. Curtis. Optional Psalm tones written out for each piece, in Latin & English.

Here is a newly-composed Gregorian Chant GLORIA in honor of Saint Edmund Arrowsmith (†1628). Please feel free to download the PDF organist scores, PDF vocalist scores (in both Modern and Gregorian notation). This setting uses the new ICEL translation of the Roman Missal.

A 70-page collection of polyphonic Motets that can be sung by the average parish choir! Although the pieces were designed for SSA or TTB choirs, they also work well for mixed choirs. Matthew has also recorded 56 free practice videos to help your choir members learn these beautiful pieces.

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people of good will. We praise you, we bless you, we adore you, we glorify you, we give you thanks for your great glory, Lord God, heavenly King, O God, almighty Father . . .

If you have an SATB choir that would love a brand new collection of dignified, beautiful, not-too-difficult motets, you need to check out Kevin Allen's "Cantiones Sacrae Simplices." Vocal phenomenon Matthew J. Curtis has also recorded more than 144 practice videos which carefully instruct singers who do not read music well. All 144 training videos are free!

Watershed assisted the Birmingham Oratory with media work leading up to the Papal visit and Beatification of John Henry Cardinal Newman. Our documentary shorts provide online tours of the Oratory, including the Cardinal’s Room and Library as well as the parish church and its chapels.

Distinguished composer Kevin Allen has set twelve Eucharistic Motets for three voices. Although the pieces were designed for SSA or TTB choirs, they also work well for mixed choirs, and a special transposition table has been included for the ease of the choirmaster. Choirmasters and singers will appreciate the fact that these pieces are not difficult to sing.

An hour-long documentary on Sacred Music. Watershed's cameras take you inside the 19th annual Sacred Music Colloquium, sponsored by the Church Music Association of America. The DVD includes a 45-minute, never-before-seen interview with Dr. William Mahrt, CMAA President & Stanford Professor.

The Rt. Rev'd Dom Hervé Courau, Abbat of Notre Dame de Triors, has authorised Watershed to post the Community's Gregorian chant recordings on our sites. For this gracious permission, sincere thanks to Father Abbat, also in the name of all those chanters who will profit from studying these beautiful sung prayers of the Church.

John Henry Newman was born in London (2/21/1801) and died in Birmingham (8/11/1890). As Vicar of St Mary’s Oxford he exerted a profound spiritual influence on the Church of England. Through his extensive published writings and private correspondence he created a greater understanding of the Catholic Church.

This is part of our ongoing Liturgical work, and we are grateful to the many guest composers who generously donate their scores. In addition, we offer free resources for all the other parts of the Mass, and currently provide more than 6,000 free Liturgical scores.

Kevin Allen's world-famous SATB "Tantum Ergo" is now in print. This piece has been enjoyed by many thousands of people, and is featured as the opening piece on "Sacred, Beautiful, & Universal: Colloquium XIX." Corpus Christi Watershed is proud to offer this Motet, along with fourteen other beautiful Motets, in "Cantiones Sacrae II."

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